The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach has extended an invitation to the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) president, Ben Nunoo Mensah to visit the IOC headquarters in Switzerland.
Ben Nunoo Mensah who disclosed the news said it was good for Ghana as a nation to receive such a honourable invitation.
He said while in Switzerland, they would have the opportunity to discuss Olympic Solidarity, Communications, Legal and Constitutional issues.

In the last ten minutes of the match, the hosts would split the posts twice through Ajeliti Lionel and Brian Wahinya’s penalty kicks

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 18, 2019/ -- Kenyatta University’s Blakblad RC stunned their opponents and third placed Kenya Harlequins as they beat them 16-15 at the KU Grounds on 16th February.

Quins were first on the scoreboard as Lyle Asiligwa drilled in a penalty giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. 15 minutes later, Brian Wahinya dotted down KU’s first try giving them the 5-3 lead. Leroy Mbugua was next on the scoreboard for Blakblad in the 37th minute of the match with KU’s second try. The 10-3 lead was reduced to 10-8 as Kenya Harlequins’ Paul Kioko landed a try at the stroke of half time. All conversions in this half sailed wide.

15 minutes into the second half, Hillary Baraza gave Quins the 13-10 lead that was extended to 15-10 after Lyle’s successful conversion. In the last ten minutes of the match, the hosts would split the posts twice through Ajeliti Lionel and Brian Wahinya’s penalty kicks. Blak Blad securing the much needed 16-15 win.

Emmanuel 'Game Boy' Tagoe who suffered a hand injury in training which necessitated the postponement of his scheduled WBO Africa lightweight title defence from Saturday, January 26 to a new date of February 23, 2019, has expressed his readiness to fight on Asamoah Gyan Fight Night 2, as he is now fully fit.
His Russian opponent, Vyacheslav Gusev whoes flight was scheduled will land in Accra any moment before the weigh for the fight which has two titles at stake.
Emmanuel 'Game Boy' Tagoe (29-1, 14 KOs) who has been signed by DiBella Entertainment fighter makes a return for what might probably be his last fight in Ghana for a long time when he defends the recently captured WBO Africa lightweight belt against experienced Russian, Vyacheslav Gusev (25-5, 8 KOs) on Asamoah Gyan Fight Night 2 at Bukom Boxing Arena.

Windies captain Stafanie Taylor has advanced two places and grabbed eighth position among batters even as a number of players from Pakistan and South Africa have also moved up in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings after winning their respective ICC Women’s Championship series.


Taylor led the list of run-getters with an aggregate of 158, including two fifties, in a 2-1 loss in Dubai that enabled Pakistan to overtake the Windies in the points table of the eight-team championship that provides direct qualification berths to hosts New Zealand and four other top teams in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.


South Africa have kept in contention for a direct berth in the pinnacle event by completing a 3-0 triumph at home over Sri Lanka, a verdict that has helped them to catch up with fifth-placed Windies on 11 points, even though they remain behind on net run rate. Pakistan’s victory over the Windies has lifted them to 12 points and they are now in fourth position, just behind India on net run rate in the list led by Australia with 16 points from only nine matches and New Zealand second at 14 points from 12.

Dutch champion Sifan Hassan and Swiss contender Julien Wanders set new world 5km records* within minutes of each other during the Herculis 5km race along the Monaco coastline on Sunday (17).
Both athletes had set themselves for attempts on the newly-established 5km road standards and they duly delivered on a picture-perfect winter day in Monaco.
The elite women started first from Port Herculis and Hassan’s intentions were immediately clear.
The European 5000m champion surged to the front of the field behind the pace-makers, gapping the rest of the field by the time she reached the end of the port. She returned alone to cross the finish line in 14:44, bettering both the pending women’s-only race world record of 15:48 and the pending mixed race standard of 14:48. Britain’s Laura Weightman finished second in 15:29.

Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Perera has advanced an astonishing 58 places in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after a memorable performance helped his team score a thrilling one-wicket victory over South Africa in Durban.
 
Perera’s gain is one of many from the first of two Tests between the two teams, even as Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has overtaken Kagiso Rabada to take the top spot among bowlers without taking the field as the South Africa fast bowler finished with only three wickets in the match. Cummins is the first from his country since Glenn McGrath in February 2006 to top the Test bowlers’ list.​

Brig Gen Clement Sinkamba who went through unopposed will lead an almost entirely new executive made up of some experienced sports administrators who bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.

LUSAKA, Zambia, February 17, 2019/ -- The Zambia Rugby Union (www.ZRU.rugby) held its elections on Saturday 16th Feb, 2019 at Ndola Wanderers Rugby Club on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia.

National Sports Council of Zambia Secretary General Raphael Mulenga graced the elections alongside veteran rugby Administrator Judge Justin Chashi. Others in attendance to offer guidance were Life vice Presidents Francis Mwila, Peter Manda and Mando Mtine.

Brig Gen Clement Sinkamba who went through unopposed will lead an almost entirely new executive made up of some experienced sports administrators who bring a wealth of knowledge to the table. The new Exco is made up as follows

Of all the athletes who were crowned champions at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018, 1500m winner Samuel Tefera was one of the least known at the start of that year.
But instead of building on his indoor triumph, Tefera endured a frustrating outdoor campaign that was hampered by illness, winning just one of his seven races and finishing outside of the medals at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 and the African Championships.
“My form dropped a little bit,” he said at the IAAF Athletics Awards in December. “But I have been training hard and I want to be satisfied with 2019.”

South Africa beat Nigeria 5-3 on penalties following a goalless ninety minutes to win the third place match at the ongoing Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Niger.


Amajita’s goalkeeper Walter Kubheka saved Adamu Ibrahim Alhassan’s penalty as the South Africans converted their fives spot kicks to edge the seven time champions to third place.


The two sides cancelled each other at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in the Nigerien capital Niamey.


The Flying Eagles dominated the opening stages of the match which saw very few scoring opportunities from either side.


Paschal Durugbor came close to breaking the deadlock on the half hour mark but his header from a corner missed the target.

Mali will take on unbeaten Senegal on Sunday in the final of the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Niamey as both side seek for their first U-20 continental glory.


The highly anticipated clash at the Stade General Seyni Kountche will be a repeat of the opening Group B match which Senegal won 2-0 in Maradi.


Midfielders Dion Lopy and Faly Ndaw scored in the second half to secure Les Lionceaux their first victory of the championship.


Youssouph Dabo’s charges followed that up with another 2-0 victory over 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup champions Ghana to book their place at this year’s U-20s World Cup in Poland.


The confident young lions thrashed Burkina Faso 5-1 before managing a 1-0 semifinal victory over Thabo Senong’s South Africa en route to Sunday’s final.


The Aiglons of Mali despite losing to Senegal in the opening match of Group B in Maradi registered back-to- back 1-0 successes over Burkina Faso and Ghana to qualify for the semifinals.

Basketball Africa League to mark NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside North America

​CHARLOTTE (U.S.)/MIES (Switzerland)/Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) - The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on Saturday announced their plan to launch the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa.
The BAL will be built on the foundation of current club competitions FIBA is organizing in Africa. Scheduled to begin play in January 2020, the BAL would mark the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.
The NBA also announced its plan to introduce a re-imagined direct-to-consumer offering of NBA games for fans in Africa by the start of the 2019-20 NBA season. The offering would include new packages, features and localized content, with additional details to be announced at a later date.

The eighth edition of the Bukom Fist of Fury Boxing League was held on Friday 15th February 2019 at the fore court of the Osu Mantse Palace in the memory of two boxing officials who have passed on.
The programme featured fighters from Wisdom Gym, Akotoku Academy, Attoh Quarshie Gym, PPBA, CSPY, Sea View Gym, Charles Quartey Boxing Foundation and Seconds out Gym.
The new IBF Lightweight World Champion, Richard Commey made a special appearance and interacted with boxers and fans. 
He advised the boys to work hard, be disciplined and take their spiritual lives seriously in order to achieve success at the highest level. Also, Ofori Asare, Head Coach of the national team; Black Bombers, expressed his gratitude to Commey’s manager, Michael Amoo- Bediako for his contributions to the team.

Ghana’s world kick boxing champion, Lawrence Nyanyo Nmai has been appointed Ghana Representative of the WBC Muay Thai.
The WBC Muay Thai in a letter signed by its Pol. Secretary, Chairman and Vice Chairman said from February 6, 2019, following the continued global expansion of the WBC Muay Thai activities, they  are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Lawrence Nyanyo Nmai as an official WBC NuayThai Representative for the country of Ghana.

Ethiopia's Samuel Tefera upstaged compatriot Yomif Kejelcha to break the long-standing world indoor 1500m record* at the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting in Birmingham on Saturday (16).
Kejelcha, who last week came within 0.01 of the world indoor mile record, had announced his intentions to break the 1500m mark ahead of his race in Birmingham. The pacemakers hit their required target times, taking Kejelcha through 800m in 1:52.70 and 2:49.28 at 1200m.

Switzerland based award winning world kickboxing champion and trainer, Lawrence Nyanyo Nmai's Pro-Fighting Factory presents a big Muay Thai event at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, the capital of Ghana on March 9, 2019 headlined by a WBC Muay Thai championship in independence week.
The Defenders of Ghana: World Class PFF Muay Thai Championship At Bukom Boxing Arena
The best Mua Thai Fighters in the world will be on show in Ghana this year, 2019 for an eye opening performance for the world to see how far the Pro Fighting Factory (PFF) Team has gone with no government support.

New IBF Lightweight champion, Richard Commey has commended the planners and organisers of the Bukom Fist of Fury Boxing League and advised boxers to grab the chance of fighting regularly to sharpen their skills.
Speaking to Yours Truly at the forecourt of the Osu Manste’s Palace where the eighth week of the League was held, he said he never had the opportunity of fighting in an exciting and interesting well organized progamme with well dressed officials.
“This programme is very good and will keep our boxers in form to be ready at any time, and give off good fights where ever they are called” he said
Commey expressed that his status has changed as a world champion, but still remains humble, cool and disciplined.

The ICC Women’s Qualifier Asia 2019 is the start of the qualification journey for China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and the UAE who are all competing for top spot which will secure a place in both the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2020. 27 teams will take part across five regional events, which act as a dual qualifier; further information can be found here.
The Asia Qualifier takes place between 18 and 27 February, across two venues; the Terdthai Cricket Ground and the Asian Institute Technology Ground in Bangkok. Teams will also be competing to climb the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings with a total of 21 Women’s T20 internationals being played in the tournament.

At the beginning of February, with four months to go until the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ (7 June-7 July), Paris played host to “Think Football”, a symposium organised by News Tank. At the event, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura and 2019 Local Organising Committee President Erwan Le Prevost expressed their collective desire to see the global tournament succeed both on and off the pitch.
On 7 February, four months to the day before the kick-off of the Women’s World Cup in Paris, Fatma Samoura travelled to the French capital to attend the third edition of “Think Football”, a News Tank-run conference which turned the spotlight on the upcoming tournament and the place of women in sport and society.

Tanzania football rivals Simba and Young Africans line up for a sensational derby on Saturday at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, battling for supremacy on the domestic front.

Yanga, the most successful Tanzanian club, sit atop the league standings with 58 points whilst Simba are fourth on 36 points having played eight games less than their rivals due to their participation in the continental club championship. 

The first meeting between the two sides this season ended in a goalless draw.

Simba is in good shape and their morale boosted courtesy the lone goal victory over Egyptians giants, Al Ahly 1-0 last Tuesday at the same venue in a Total CAF Champions league fixture, a revival to their hopes of reaching the next round.

“The game is coming at the perfect moment. The victory over Ahly is a big boost for us, we are now looking forward to get positive results on Saturday,” said Simba Assistant captain, Mohammed Hussein who lasted 55 minutes duing the last derby.

Mali youngster Sekou Koita is following in the footsteps of Senegalese forward Sadio Mane and Naby Keita of Guinea to fulfill his dreams of becoming a global icon.

The 19-year old is on the books of the Austrian giants Red Bull Salzburg where Mane and Keita cut their teeth to stardom.

“At the moment everything is going well and I think I am following in the footsteps of my brothers’ Sadio Mane or Naby Keïta who played for Salzburg,” Koita, a key member of the Les Aiglons squad that will face Senegal in the Sunday’s final told CAFOnline.com.

Mane featured for Red Bull Salzburg between 2012 and 2014 making over 60 appearances which caught the eyes of Southampton, whom he joined in 2014. Since 2016, he has been one of the key figures at Liverpool forming a partnership with Egyptian Mohamed Salah.

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will face the Amajita of South in Saturday’s third place match of the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Niger.
The two sides will aim to finish on a high after losing their semifinal matches to Mali and Senegal respectively.


The Flying Eagles bowed out on penalties following 1-1 stalemate after extra time against Mali who will take on Senegal in Sunday’s final at the Stade General Seyni Kountche.


Amajita lost to Senegal 1-0 courtesy of Givemore Khupe’s own goal twenty minutes from time securing Les Lionceaux a place in the final against Mali.


The two teams will be meeting for the second time in Niamey after canceling out each other 0-0 in the group stage of the tournament.
Amajita’s coach Thabo Senong is at his third successive Africa U-20 Cup of Nations tournament.

Teachers and students of Oddareane Christian School on Friday morning defied the rain to make field trips to various locations to learn about the world practically. They first visited the Child Health Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and made a surprise donation to patients and parents in the wards. 
They also went to Panbros to see how salt is made and visited the West Hills Mall, Happy FM, ETV, Rainbow Radio International among others. 
Rev. Kweku Addo Proprietor of the school said the pupils and students learn fast with what they see and feel. 
He noted that the field learning makes them appreciate nature to love the world. ​

Amajita defender Givemore Khupe’s own goal secured Senegal a place in the final of the Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Niamey, Niger.


The Les Lionceaux came into Wednesday’s second semifinal as strong favorites following their impressive group stage performance where they won all three matches against Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso.


South Africa’s Amajita are known to be very discipline in their style of play which makes it difficult for teams to break them down in the tournament.


Youssouph Dabo’s charges were limited to attempts in the first half which a tactical master class from the two coaches as Senegal failed to score for the first time in the first period during this tournament.

Enugu Rangers went back to their base with a precious point and top spot of the group after CS Sfaxien to a 1-1 draw in their Group B Day Two clash away in Sfax.

The draw keeps Rangers at the top of the standings despite tied on four points with Sfaxien.  

Sfaxien fans vastly outnumbered the handful of Rangers fans that were present in Taieb Mhiri Stadium. Though their numbers were insignificant, the Nigerian fans cheered Rangers relentlessly throughout the game, often singing and dancing to fight the Tunisian cold weather.

Both goals were less than two minutes apart. Ala Marzougui was the first to score for the home side on 71 minutes before Pape Ousmane Sane evened the score a minute later. 

Sfaxien went straight into attack from the early minutes of the game. Rangers’ goalkeeper Nana Bonsu’s skills helped him fend off Jassem Hamdouni’s efforts at goal on seven minutes. The visitors responded in the 26th minute but Ayman Dahmen had no trouble saving the shot by Msonter Shimanga.

Asante Kotoko recorded their first win of the group stage after beating Zesco United 2-1 in Kumasi on Wednesday.

Kotoko started on the front foot with series of well-organized attacks into the penalty box of the Zambian visitors, but poor finishing and the agility of the Zesco defense was their bane.

The Porcupine Warriors nearly grabbed the opener on two separate occasions. First in the sixth minute through Emmanuel Gyamfi who after ghosting past his marker, shot agonizingly wide with only the goalkeeper Jacob Banda to beat.  

Midfielder Kwame Bonsu who was a force at the centre of affairs for the hosts wasted a glorious opportunity to give his side the lead in the eight minute as his shot on target missed the goal by inches.